Chapter Twenty Six – The Cost of Magic

The scent of fresh dough filled the bakery, warm and familiar, as Elias stacked the last tray of cookies into the display case. Hikari, perched on a stool nearby, watched with quiet fascination.

"You know," she said thoughtfully, "I don't think I ever actually looked at the prices before."

Mira, who was sipping a matcha latte while scrolling through her phone, perked up. "Oh? Are we finally acknowledging the fact that Elias is low-key scamming people?"

Elias shot her a flat look. "Excuse me?"

Mira grinned, setting her cup down and tapping the edge of the display case. "I mean, look at this. One cookie is what, 800 yen?" She pointed dramatically. "A single loaf of bread? 2,500 yen?! Elias, are you selling baked goods or luxury goods?"

Hikari blinked. "Wait… you're right. That's way more expensive than a normal bakery."

Elias sighed. "It's not a scam."

The bakery had never been cheap.

Elias knew that.

He wasn't oblivious. He knew his cookies weren't something people grabbed on their way to work. He knew his breads weren't the kind of thing someone casually bought just to snack on while walking home.

Moonlight Crumbs had always been different.

And not just because of the magic.

A Nostalgia Cookie – 1,200 yenA pack of three – 3,200 yenA whole loaf of yuzu shokupan – 3,800 yen

this is just a few items in the bakery, the others? say no more.

Expensive. Too expensive.

The average price of cookies and pastries usually range from 70 yen to 250 yen per item. while for the loaves it priced around 200 yen and on. clearly Elias pricing is significantly higher than the average bakery price around the city.

Elias stared at the neatly handwritten price tags inside the display case, arms crossed over his chest.

"Alright," he said, after a long stretch of silence. "Maybe I get why people weren't coming in before."

Mira, leaning dramatically on the counter, snorted. 

Elias exhaled, rubbing the back of his neck.

"This bakery… was never meant to be an everyday place," Elias said, voice calm but firm. "My parents designed it to sell high-quality, handcrafted goods. Not something you grab with your morning coffee."

Mira raised an eyebrow. "And by 'high-quality,' you mean absurdly expensive?"

Elias ignored her. "These aren't cheap convenience store pastries. The ingredients matter. I use premium flour, imported vanilla, handcrafted preserves—not to mention some of these techniques take hours, sometimes days. This isn't just a bakery." He hesitated, then added quietly, "It was supposed to be a place for people to find something special."

Hikari tilted her head. "Special how?"

Elias exhaled, rubbing the back of his neck. "It's a gift bakery."

Hikari blinked. "A what?"

"The kind of place where you buy something meaningful for someone else," Elias explained. "Moonlight Crumbs was never meant for daily snacks or casual breakfast bread. Every cookie, every loaf—it was meant to be a gift. Something you bring home to family. Something you give to someone important."

Hikari frowned. "But wouldn't that make sales harder? I mean, if people only buy your stuff for special occasions…"

"Exactly," Elias murmured, glancing toward the front window. "That's why it's been a struggle."

Mira tapped her chin. "Huh. So that's why the place always looked… well, dead."

Elias gave her a look.

She shrugged. "No offense, but come on. If someone walks past this place at noon, sees it empty, sees the price tags—they're gonna assume it's some overpriced boutique nonsense."

Hikari looked thoughtful. "And with the magic thing only happening after 9 PM, it makes even less sense for casual customers."

Elias went silent.

"And the fact that it looked dead half the time," Mira add in.

Elias sighed. "—yeah. It didn't really stand out."

It hadn't been an issue back when his parents were still alive. They had built a loyal customer base—people who expected these cookies and breads as gifts during the holidays, who made it a tradition to stop by.

But when Elias had reopened after their passing…

It wasn't the same.

The old customers had drifted away, moving on to newer, trendier places. The neighborhood had changed. And Elias… well, he hadn't exactly gone out of his way to draw attention to Moonlight Crumbs.

Two years of keeping the doors open.

Two years of watching the shop barely stay afloat.

He could count on one hand the number of regular customers he had during that time.

And one of them was standing right in front of him.

Elias turned to Mira, raising an eyebrow.

"You know," he said, "for someone who claims she's just a random customer, you were buying from here almost every single day."

Mira grinned, shameless. "I like cookies. Sue me."

"Cookies that cost over a thousand yen each?"

"Listen," Mira said, holding up a finger. "I have terrible financial habits. And also—" She wiggled her fingers dramatically. "Magic cookie wizardy. You think I'm gonna find that anywhere else?"

Elias shook his head. "You're insane."

Mira just giggled. "And that is exactly why I wanted to help. Your cookies are weirdly addictive, but nobody knew this place even existed. So if hyping up Moonlight Crumbs in exchange for free cookies was the deal—" She shrugged. "Easy trade."

Hikari, who had been silently absorbing all of this, suddenly gasped.

"Wait—" She pointed at Mira. "You were keeping this bakery alive before it went viral?!"

Mira puffed out her chest. "That's right. i'm Mira Solace, part-time marketing genius, full-time cookie addict."

Elias sighed, but there was something almost fond behind it.

Maybe Mira had single-handedly kept the bakery afloat during those quiet, struggling years.

Maybe she'd been more important to Moonlight Crumbs than even he realized.

And now?

Now the bakery wasn't just for special occasions anymore.

Now, it was a place where people could come and stay.